WWI Memorial in Song

brancy is an official commemorative partner of the wwi centennial commission

Grammy Nominated Baritone John Brancy and pianist Peter Dugan have been redefining the art song recital since making their critically acclaimed debut of A Silent Night: A WWI Memorial In Song at the Kennedy Center in 2014.  That program, which was hailed by The Washington Post as “so refreshingly, marvelously different,” pays homage to the centennial of World War I through the music of composers who lived through, fought in, and died in the Great War.  Since then, Brancy and Dugan have released A Silent Night as their debut album and have given recitals presented by Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, The Smithsonian Institute, Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach, Stanford University, The University of Chicago, Societe d’art Vocal de Montreal, and more. Together they won First Prize at the 2018 Montreal International Music Competition and Second Prize at the 2017 Wigmore Hall International Song Competition.

Both artists maintain lively and unique individual careers.  Brancy has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Opera, and on tour with Glyndebourne Opera.  Dugan regularly guest hosts on NPR’s From The Top, and has performed as a soloist with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony and in duo collaborations with Itzhak Perlman and Joshua Bell. 

    Brancy and Dugan met as students at the Juilliard School.  As collaborative partners, they are committed to reenergizing and reinventing the approach to art song.  Their repertoire ranges from the classic song cycles of the 19th century to original arrangements of the American Songbook and modern popular tunes.